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Frieden and agency officials said they’re getting reports of spot vaccine shortages, but they stressed that vaccines are still available to people who want them. It just may take a few calls to locate a provider that has the vaccine, they said.

This year’s flu vaccine is 62 percent effective, which is “far less than we wish it would be,” Frieden said. Still, agency officials said the vaccine’s effectiveness meets their expectations, given this year’s flu strain.

“The flu vaccine is far from perfect, but it’s still by far the best tool we have to prevent the flu,” Frieden said.

The CDC won’t have a full tally of the death toll until the season ends. The agency does track pediatric deaths, and there are 20 so far.

There are signs that some of the flu season’s worst effects already have passed, but it’s too early to say whether the season has peaked, CDC officials said. Twenty-four states are reporting a high level of flu activity this week, down from 29 last week. Meanwhile, cases of widespread flu — based on the geographic spread of flu activity — are now in 47 states, up from 41 last week.

It’ll take a couple of weeks to know whether flu season — which got off to an early start this year — has peaked, Frieden said.

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 12:41 p.m. on January 11, 2013.